Gender Identity and Workplace Discrimination 

 

            Can you be fired based on your gender? Technically in Oklahoma you can because this is an “at-will” state.  However, if you are cisgender, there is a law/clause that ensures you cannot be fired simply because of your gender, and if you are, even in an” at-will” state, you have legal recourse. That law does not apply to me or any other trans person in Oklahoma or the other 31 other states in which trans people are not protected from work-place discrimination. I am fortunate; I work in higher education, a field in which difference is embraced and being trans is not something for which to be fired (this applies most to public institutions). However, many trans people are fired simply for being trans. Some employers do give reason, such as the employer who told blogger Patricia Dawson, “’ I’m sorry, Steve, you do great work, but you are too much of a distraction and I am going to have to let you go”’ (Dawson). He even used her birth name while firing her, adding insult to injury. Race, gender, religion, age, sexuality and gender identity should not determine how a person is judged at work; instead, the quality of their work should be the only determining factor in workplace appraisals.  Gender-identity-based workplace discrimination, however, not only happens too often, but is also legal in more than half of the United States, this includes my home state of Oklahoma.

            The issue of trans discrimination in the workplace leads or contributes to other issues facing the community such as poverty and homelessness, with high rates of trans people falling into these socio-economic groups. According to a report in The Advocate, “MAP [Movement Advancement Project] and CAP [Center for American Progress] report that trans people are nearly four times more likely to have a yearly household income below $10,000 (15 percent vs. 4 percent of the nontrans population)” (Kellaway).  Not only is this situation bad for the trans community, but it is also bad for the health of the economy. In continuing to maintain legality in firing people simply for being trans, we, as a society, are creating the need for government assistance within the community. Changing these laws is not only the just decision, but also the economically sound decision. I ask my readers to consider supporting a change to these laws, and helping me create a brighter future for the children of this state and country. As a trans advocate, I will work with lawmakers and other advocates in Oklahoma to effect change and include gender identity in our non-discrimination clause. I know that this probably will not be easy, but nothing worth fighting for usually is.

Works Cited

Dawson, Patricia. “Fired for Being Trans.” Huffington Post, 02 Feb, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-dawson/fired-for-being-trans_b_6759862.html. Accessed 08 Nov. 2106.

Kellaway, Mitch. “Trans Americans Four Times More Likely to Live in Poverty.” The Advocate. 18 Feb. 2015. http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/02/18/report-trans-americans-four-times-more-likely-live-poverty. Accessed 08 Nov. 2016.